51 days to Inauguration - At 10:40 a.m. Eastern tomorrow, Senator Clinton will stand next to President-elect Obama at the Chicago Hilton as he names her secretary of stateBy:
MIKE ALLEN
on November 30, 2008 @ 9:10 AM

Bill Clinton will release long-secret list of 208,000 library/foundation donors by end of year — Exclusive: Full text of his concessions, described as “more than what [was] asked of him"

Tomorrow is the biggest news day since the election: In addition to the Clinton announcement, a huge global story, Secretary Gates will be retained at the Pentagon and retired Marine Gen. James Jones will be named national security adviser.

Good Sunday morning. The cover of tomorrow’s NEW YORKER shows preening DOGS lined up to be interviewed by the president-elect.

NEWSWEEK’S cover is a Charles Ommanney shot of the president-elect stepping onto his plane. In “Global Agenda: How to Fix the World," Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria argues: “This is a rare moment in history. A more responsive America, better attuned to the rest of the world, could help create a new set of ideas and institutions — an architecture of peace for the 21st century that would bring stability, prosperity and dignity to the lives of billions of people. Ten years from now, the world will have moved on; the rising powers will have become unwilling to accept an agenda conceived in Washington or London or Brussels. But at this time and for this man, there is a unique opportunity to use American power to reshape the world.”

THE BIG IDEA — L.A. Times lead story — “Economic rescue could cost $8.5 trillion,” by Jim Puzzanghera: “With its decision last week to pump an additional $1 trillion into the financial crisis, the government eliminated any doubt that the nation is on a wartime footing in the battle to shore up the economy. The strategy now — and in the coming Obama administration — is essentially the win-at-any-cost approach previously adopted only to wage a major war. … [T]he Bush administration and the economic team that Obama is rapidly assembling like a war Cabinet are vowing to spend whatever it takes to avoid a depression; they'll worry about the effect later. … MAY SOW THE SEEDS OF HIGHER INTEREST RATES AND SOARING INFLATION … [T]he spending only adds to the looming problems of unfunded Social Security and Medicare commitments as baby boomers begin to retire.”

LAST NIGHT’S FINAL OBAMA POOL REPORT: “After a three-hour dinner at Frontera, during which Secret Service agents searched diners at the door as they entered the restaurant, the Obamas left the eatery at 11:02 a.m. with Marty Nesbitt and Nesbitt's wife, Anita Blanchard. The motorcade dropped the Nesbitts at their Hyde Park home at 11:19 p.m. The Obamas continued home, and a lid was called for the day at 11:25 p.m.”

TRANSLATION: Chicago’s Frontera Grill says it features “hardwood grilled dishes, rich moles, and chile-thickened braises learned from market and home cooks throughout Mexico.” Martin H. Nesbitt, a regular in Obama basketball games, was treasurer of the presidential campaign. Anita Blanchard, an obstetrician who delivered Malia and Sasha, accompanied the Obama family on its 2006 trip to Kenya.

TOP STORY: As part of a remarkable roster of NINE concessions to negotiators for Obama’s presidential transition, former President Clinton has agreed to publish the list of 208,0000 DONORS to the Clinton library/foundation BY THE END OF THE YEAR. (Ben Smith has his money on Dec. 24, 25 or 31.) Senator Clinton will appear with the president-elect as he names her secretary of state at a news conference unveiling his national security team TOMORROW in Chicago at 9:40 a.m. Central, 10:40 a.m. Eastern.

Here’s the internal guidance about the agreement, which a Democratic official said “speaks to President Clinton's willingness to do more than what's asked of him”:

“At the request of President-elect Obama, and to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest between the work of President Clinton and the service of Hillary Clinton should she be nominated and confirmed as Secretary of State, President Clinton is taking the following steps above and beyond the requirements of current laws and regulations.

— The Clinton Foundation will publish the names of everyone who has contributed since its founding in 1997 (this year).

— Should Senator Clinton be nominated and confirmed as Secretary of State, during her time of service, the Foundation will also publish the names of everyone who contributes going forward on an annual basis.

— The Foundation will separately incorporate CGI [the Clinton Global Initiative] from the Foundation; President Clinton will continue to host CGI gatherings, such as the one in NYC and its meetings for college and university students, as Founding Chairman of CGI.

— Although President Clinton will continue to invite participants to CGI events (which involves normal registration fees), he will not solicit 'sponsorship' contributions for CGI.

— CGI will also not host annual events outside the US and CGI will not solicit or accept foreign government contributions.

— Given the extensive and life-saving work of the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative which can and should continue, the Foundation will continue to fulfill its commitments funded by foreign governments (including, among others, Sweden Norway, France, Great Britain). In the event an existing contributing country chooses to substantially increase its commitment, or a new country, or government-owned entity, decides to contribute, the Foundation will share such proposed contributions with the State Department ethics officials. State may also share the issue to the WH Counsel's office for review. To whatever extent there are conflict of interest concerns raised about such potential contributions related to Senator Clinton's service as Secretary, they will be conveyed to Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation for appropriate action.

— Same procedure to be followed for any foreign country contributors to CCI [Clinton Climate Initiative], CGSCI [Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative] and CHDI [Clinton Hunter Development Initiative].

— Regarding President Clinton's private work, during her tenure, President Clinton will share proposed hosts of speeches with the State Department ethics officials for their review, and as appropriate for review by the White House Counsel. Again, should there be conflict of interest concerns related to the Senator's anticipated service as Secretary, they will share those concerns with Senator and President Clinton for appropriate action.

— During her tenure as Secretary of State, should she be nominated and confirmed, President Clinton will share any proposed consultant relationships with State Department ethics officials, and the same procedures outlined above will apply here as well.

“None of these protocols is required by any law, and all of them go above and beyond the requirements of the law to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. The procedures are, of course, in addition, to the already extensive laws and regulations government the activities of spouses of federal officials (such as those outlined in 5 USC 208 and related regulations).”

51 days to Inauguration - At 10:40 a.m. Eastern tomorrow, Senator Clinton will stand next to President-elect Obama at the Chicago Hilton as he names her secretary of state

THE TRADEOFF — The New York Times’ Peter Baker, in Chicago, who was the first to report that the library list would be made public: “The agreement, most of which will become effective once Mrs. Clinton is confirmed, will prevent the Clinton Global Initiative from holding just the sort of meeting that it is sponsoring in Hong Kong starting Tuesday, the day after Mr. Obama’s scheduled announcement. The meeting was scheduled to be the first of a series around the world bringing together leaders of government, business and nonprofit groups to discuss education, energy, climate change and public health.”

FLASHBACK 1: The agreement was negotiated by Cheryl Mills, Robert Barnett, Bruce Lindsey and Doug Band on the Clinton side and John Podesta and Todd Stern on the Obama side.

JUST ASKING: Politico posted the internal document last night, prompting this e-mail from the indefatigable JOSH GERSTEIN, formerly of ABC News, The Harvard Crimson and the late New York Sun: “I have the following questions about the Cheryl Mills-y language: Under what standard will the State Department and White House counsel's office permit or even analyze proposed donations? Why no pledge to make those disclosures public in real time, or at least as they are approved?”

BACKSTORY, from Politico’s Ben Smith: “Many of the names were made public when a New York Sun reporter [the aforementioned Josh Gerstein] found them on a computer at the Clinton Library in Little Rock. But Clinton had argued during the campaign that the donors had given with ‘reasonable expectation that their gifts would remain anonymous.’ Another source familiar with Clinton's work said the list may include some embarrassing names, but nothing dramatic enough to scuttle his wife's chances to be secretary of state. That the nomination is on track to go forward suggests that Obama sees no overly embarrassing revelations in the list either. Another Democrat said the disclosure may not come immediately so that Clinton is able to notify donors that their names will be made public.”

FLASHBACK 2: The Gerstein “Oil for Books” lead, with a LITTLE ROCK dateline: “President Clinton's new $165 million library here was funded in part by gifts of $1 million or more each from the Saudi royal family and three Saudi businessmen. … Information about the donors is available to the public on a single touch-screen computer mounted on a wall on the third floor of the recently opened library.”

P.S. After the campaign, Senator Clinton was offered a SEAT (not the chair) on Senate Appropriations AMONG OTHER OPTIONS. The N.Y. Daily News Kenneth R. Bazinet first reported the conversations.

PLAYBOOK TRIVIA QUIZ: Lunch at Lauriol Plaza to whoever can name the last U.S. senator who was named chair of a committee they had never sat on.

— Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), former Navy secretary and Armed Services chairman, praises the president-elect’s national security team: “The triumvirate of Gates, Clinton and Jones to lead Obama's 'national security team' instills great confidence at home and abroad and further strengthens the growing respect for the president-elect's courage and ability to exercise sound judgment in selecting the 'best and the brightest' to implement our nation's security policies.” (Hat tip: Hawkeye)

— Politico’s Chris Frates, Tom “Daschle lobby ties bump up against Obama vow”: “The former Democratic senator from South Dakota is a special policy adviser for the lobbying law firm Alston & Bird. And in his three years there, the firm has earned more than $16 million representing some of the health care industry’s most powerful interests before the department he’s in line to lead. Daschle is not himself a lobbyist. But he has advised the firm’s clients on health care issues, according to the firm’s website. … No political appointee, Obama’s transition team has declared, ‘will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years.’ As health and human services secretary, Daschle would oversee myriad regulations, ranging from the drugs that can come to market to Medicare and Medicare reimbursements. ... Daschle’s office referred questions to Obama’s transition aides, who said his ‘work at Alston & Bird does not present a bar to his service in the transition.’ ‘We are still in the process of structuring the ethics rules for an Obama administration, but it's clear that those rules would require recusal from any regulation or issue at Alston that he actually worked on,’ said transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter. ‘We will meet every commitment made during the campaign.’”

— AP's Ben Feller — "Obama — Left or Center? Liberals to keep pressure on Obama for results": "Already, the liberal blogosphere is showing its influence. John Brennan, Obama's top pick to head the CIA, suddenly withdrew his name from consideration under pressure this past week. His potential appointment had raised a firestorm among liberal blogs that associate him with the Bush administration's interrogation, detention and rendition policies. Within hours, blogs that raised concerns about Brennan's career claimed victory about their successful exercise in free speech. ... The left could get early legislative victories on expanded health care for children from poor families, and looser restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. Obama's stimulus plan is bound to include spending and jobs supported by labor."

— WashPost A1, “Joint Chiefs Chairman 'Very Positive' After Meeting With Obama,” by Karen DeYoung: “As Obama prepares to announce his national security team tomorrow, he faces a military that has long mistrusted Democrats and is particularly wary of a young, intellectual leader with no experience in uniform, who once called Iraq a ‘dumb’ war. … But so far, Obama appears to be going out of his way to reassure them that he will do nothing rash and will seek their advice, even while making clear that he may not always take it. He has demonstrated an ability to speak the lingo, talk about ‘mission plans’ and ‘tasking’. …
“Obama has been careful to separate his criticism of Bush policy from his praise of the military's valor and performance, while Michelle Obama's public expressions of concern for military families have gone over well. But most important, according to several senior officers and civilian Pentagon officials who would speak about their incoming leader only on the condition of anonymity, is the expectation of renewed respect for the chain of command and greater realism about U.S. military goals and capabilities, which many found lacking during the Bush years.”

— CLINTON — Reuters’ Caren Bohan: “Obama, inspired by his hero Abraham Lincoln's idea of creating a ‘team of rivals’ in his Cabinet, may be gambling by choosing his former adversary Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.”

— AP’s Beth Fouhy: “Advisers said Obama had for several months envisioned Clinton as his top diplomat, and he invited her to Chicago to discuss the job just a week after the Nov. 4 election. The two met privately Nov. 13 in Obama's downtown transition office.”

— The Times of London: “One member of Barack Obama’s campaign team is playing a central role in forming his new administration – despite being dead for 143 years. Abraham Lincoln is shaping the next White House in profound ways.”

— L.A. Times Opinion, “Lincoln and the myth of 'Team of Rivals': President Lincoln's Cabinet was far more dysfunctional than Doris Kearns Goodwin's book would have us believe,” by Matthew Pinsker: “Over the years, it has become easy to forget that hard edge and the once bad times that nearly destroyed a president. Lincoln's Cabinet was no team. His rivals proved to be uneven as subordinates. Some were capable despite their personal disloyalty, yet others were simply disastrous. Lincoln was a political genius, but his model for Cabinet-building should stand more as a cautionary tale than as a leadership manual.” Matthew Pinsker, author of "Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home," teaches Civil War history at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-pinsker18-2008nov18,0,638333,print.story

— GATES — Reuters’ Andrew Gray: “Obama's reported decision to ask Robert Gates to stay as U.S. defense secretary has been widely praised but it may lead to at least a few awkward moments for both men.”

DON’T BELIEVE IT – IT’S GREAT FOR BOTH OF THEM.

— U.N — Reuters’ Patrick Worsnip: “Despite public protestations of neutrality in the Nov. 4 presidential election, there has been thinly disguised glee at U.N. headquarters that Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain. Some foresee Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20 as the end of a long dark night under the eight-year Bush administration. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he looks forward to ‘an era of renewed partnership and a new multilateralism’ with Obama.”

MUMBAI LATEST — Reuters: “Indian security chief resigns over Mumbai attacks … Tensions high between India and Pakistan after attacks … Indian home minister resigns over Mumbai … Finance minister to become home minister: The fallout from a three-day rampage that killed nearly 200 people in Mumbai threatened to unravel India's improving ties with nuclear rival Pakistan and prompted the resignation on Sunday of the top security minister. New Delhi said it was raising security to a ‘war level’ and had proof of a Pakistani link to the attacks, which unleashed anger at home over the intelligence failure and delayed response to frenzied violence that paralysed India's financial capital."

WORTH THE CLICK — N.Y. Times A1, “MESSAGE MACHINE — One Man’s Military-Industrial-Media Complex: Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general, has quietly flourished at the intersection of network news and wartime commerce,” By David Barstow. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/washington/30general.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print

“Burress' latest self-inflicted wound came after he was initially turned away from the LQ nightclub in midtown because he was packing heat, police sources said. Burress, 31, who was sporting flashy jewelry and carrying loads of cash, told club management he needed the gun to protect himself, sources said. The mercurial Giant was waved inside the crowded Latin-themed club on Lexington Ave. about midnight. He downed several drinks, making already jittery security guards more nervous about his weapon. As Burress was being led into a VIP area, with a drink in his hand, the gun slipped down his pants leg. He reached for the weapon, but fumbled it and it went off, sources said. The bullet tore through Burress' already injured right thigh, police said.”

Dear Barack Obama, Tomorrow's the big day, the first one of many I'm sure! Hillary's going to be a hand full, she will "play the game" for a while, but you will learn soon enough. She's going to want to go to Africa (I think Bill found a Platinum mine or something). Don't fall for the "Hey Bro, it's our Heritage!" routine. Send her straight to Israel! Make her stay there till we have a two state solution! They will get so sick of her they will sign anything to get her to leave. Trust me on this!Karl

Dear Barack Obama, I forgot, one more thing, This whole Al Gore -Bill Clinton climate thing is a big scam. Cap and Trade or what ever they call it is the next financial scam! The word on the streets is that the Wall Street boys think they are going to make Billions off this one. Don't fall for it!! Remember Charity Begins at Home! If we clean up our own house everyone else will get the message. Buying carbon credits won't help things move along any faster and will just take money away from the cause.Karl